Tips For Keeping Your Bird Dog Safe on Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

I thought I’d share a few tips to keep your dogs safe on this very festive, loud, and potentially deadly holiday.

Just a few tips to keep your dog safe on this festive and loud holiday. 

July 5th is the busiest day of the year for animal shelters across the nation because so many dogs get frightened by fireworks on July 4th and flee, become disoriented, and lost. Hopefully they do not get hit by a car, as many do. Taking a few precautions can go a long way to ensure your dog does not get killed, injured, or forever traumatized by fireworks this week.

First, be sure they are wearing an ID tag, or are permanently tattooed or microchipped. Even if they have all of these, remove the collar and write your phone number on it with a permanent marker. Put the collar back on. Now, take a few photos of the dog to be sure you have a recent one available if you need it. 

Take your dog out to do his business well before the snapping and popping of the festivities begin–usually right before dark–and make sure to take him/her out on a leash. Even if your yard is fenced-in, go out with him on a lead.

Take him indoors, close drapes and blinds, turn on the television, radio, fans, air-conditioners. Turn them up so as to muffle outdoor sounds. Relax and have a good evening with your pup! If the dog does notice when fireworks start going off, just act as if it’s nothing–do not act like it’s anything, do not feed into it or act as if you notice. Just brush it off and distract him, turn the television up louder, go to a different part of the house or basement, etc. and just play fetch or what have you. 

If you must leave your dog during fireworks, please leave him inside and do these same things–turn on the television and turn up the volume. Turn on a fan and radio. Leave a favorite chew toy or treat. 

If you typically leave your dog in a garage while you are gone, consider taking him inside or at least turn on a radio loudly, etc. And, if you kennel your dogs outdoors, consider moving them to a garage, or in the house, or at least set up a radio out at the kennels.

If you decide to take your pup with you to a party, find out if they plan on fireworks and if they do, leave well before they start them or at least take the pup inside during the show and do the same things–turn on the television, radio, etc. Do not think it is okay to have the pup around the fireworks. Even if he’s showed no signs of being bothered previously, you just never know what could happen or set them off and as dogs age, they can become more sensitive to this. 

Keep your dog on a leash at all times during this festive few days because you never know when the neighbors will decide to set off the rest of their stash of fireworks before their vacation is over. 

With just a few simple precautions, you can avoid a problem that could potentially last forever, make a great upland hunting dog gun-shy, or worse–death or serious injury of a fleeing dog–or searching all the shelters tomorrow.

Enjoy your holiday and your dog!

Love,

M.

P.S. The two dogs I mentioned in the video were not my dogs, but stories I’ve been told.